The Contents of a Pictograph Box
by Sage of Silence
Summary: A compilation of somewhat unrelated one-shots/vignettes about the OoT/MM universe. Rated T for potential language and themes. Updated 8-29-09: Organ Lessons, All the Riches in the World
1. Author's Note

The Contents of a Pictograph Box

**Author's Note:** I'm not much of a writer; I prefer to draw. This preference leads me to think in pictures, or in short snippets of "video". So, I thought an interesting idea for a fan fic would be to think of a picture (or, in the Zelda world, a pictograph), and go from there.

That, and I lack the attention span/dedication to write a multi-chaptered fic.

"The Contents of a Pictograph Box" will be a compilation of somewhat unrelated vignettes and one-shots, dealing with the OoT/MM universe and its characters.

A few overarching principles: (mainly so I don't have to repeat them every time, and so things make sense for you, the reader)

*Sheik=Zelda. Or, more accurately, Zelda's mind trapped in a male body. No cross-dressing involved. As such, I will use male pronouns. If "Shink" pairings pop up, keep this in mind.

*I tend to be a major Zelink shipper. However, Malink stories may, and probably will, make an appearance.

*I try my best to keep my characters "in character". For example, Link will never appear as a major jerk (although, like any nice guy, he will have his off days), and I refuse to characterize Zelda as a ditzy girly-girl (see the Gossip Stone outside Hyrule Castle for reference). However, I do often take liberties with facets of characters' personalities that the games do not address.

*Time traveling, the seven-year reset, and memories of the past:

I am of the opinion that sent-back-in-time Zelda (of the Twilight Princess timeline) is aware, in some form, of the alternate past-perhaps as a sort of punishment to herself? She strikes me as a character particularly prone to guilt. Anyway, I would imagine that her recollection of the events of OoT would be like a particularly vivid dream, or a feeling of déjà vu, but nothing as concrete as a memory.

That being said, I belong to the school of thought that argues that after Link is set back, two Zeldas exist. Adult Zelda (of the Wind Waker timeline) continues to exist, and, as expected, has full recollection of the events of OoT. As such, personality may differ slightly between the two Zeldas.

In regards to Link, I think he is fully aware of the events of OoT upon returning to his childhood. This would explain why he returned to see Zelda at the end of OoT (presumably, to warn her), and why he seems more mature/competent in MM (a bit more experience under his belt).

In short, the only person who has actual memories of the events that transpired is Link. Zelda has a vague recollection, and everyone else, sages included, has no clue.

*Point in the timeline will be introduced before each story. For stories that occur after games, "Post-OoT" will refer to the adult timeline; "Post-MM" will refer to the child timeline. The period of time in the child timeline before MM but after OoT will be called "Pre-MM, Post-OoT".

Longest. Author's Note. Ever.

So, without further ado, I invite you to look into the pictograph box. Hopefully you'll find the contents to your liking.

As always, reviews, critiques, and suggestions are welcome.


	2. Delayed Gratification

**Delayed Gratification**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, or any unoriginal characters._

_Setting: OoT_

For years he had come unfailingly to the Temple of Time. Sitting. Waiting. Training so vigorously his cries of exertion echoed off of the stone walls of the cavernous chamber where the Master Sword was held.

But it was to no avail. The Hero had not returned.

The Sheikah smirked beneath his cowl. Today wasn't going to be that day, either.

The leanly muscled man slumped against the wall, and pulled out his lyre. He idly plucked at the strings in an attempt to pass the day away. From time to time, he would hum softly, harmonizing with the lyre, playing melodies he knew from his past-from before he was a he, before the times had necessitated this disguise.

Like every other day, the sun made its trek across the sky, dragging the multicolored beams of light in the chamber along with it. Finally, the colors would dissipate into shadow, and the one who waited was free to leave. It was almost that time.

Sheik rose, stiff from remaining in one position too long. He gathered his lyre and the remnants of the food he had brought and jerkily walked towards the entrance of the chamber, his feet full of prickles. He looked towards the pedestal where the Master Sword once lay, and sighed.

Tomorrow, perhaps.

"I have been waiting for you, Hero of Time," he murmured to himself. "And until you come, I will continue to wait."


	3. In Memoriam

**In Memoriam**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, or any unoriginal characters._

_Setting: Post-OoT (~50 years)_

The Dowager Queen Zelda intently poured over the sketches in front of her, scrutinizing every minor detail. She tucked a silver lock of hair behind her ear and adjusted her spectacles.

"You do excellent work, Gustaf," she said to the artist pacing nervously back and forth across the room. The queen smiled sadly to herself. "It is just as I remember him, except for one thing."

She motioned the sculptor over, and pointed to the close-up portrait sketch. "His eyes."

Gustaf looked at her in confusion. "What displeases you, Your Majesty? I tried to give him a look worthy of the many marvelous deeds he accomplished."

Zelda nodded at the artist respectfully. "And so you did, quite masterfully. Except…" she trailed off, closing her eyes.

Gustaf's raised his eyebrows in realization. "It seems, Your Majesty, I understand the problem." He took his eraser and pencil and went to work: a slight alteration of the furrow of the brow, a slight crinkle at the edge of the eye, a darkening of the pupil. He showed the altered portrait to the Dowager Queen.

She smiled broadly, and Gustaf could have sworn her dark blue eyes sparkled. "Yes, Gustaf, that's it! What did you do?"

The artist shrugged. "I gave them warmth."

"Warm eyes on a cold marble statue, that's quite the juxtaposition," Zelda mused aloud.

A sharp rap on the wooden door was promptly followed by the entry of a finely-dressed middle-aged man into the artist's studio.

"Well, Gustaf, I see you have managed to distract my mother from her duties once again," he said amusedly.

"Now, Daphnes," the queen scolded, "the council can reach decisions without my input. They've been doing so ever since I took the throne."

The King of Hyrule sighed. "If you don't leave Gustaf to his work, the statue will never be finished."

Zelda contemplated this for a moment and then rose slowly to her feet. Her son came over, lending her his arm for support.

"Gustaf, you will keep me updated, I hope?" The artist nodded vigorously.

Daphnes tugged lightly on his mother's gown. "Come, mother, the council awaits."

The two royals left the studio and began the lengthy walk to the Grand Hall.

"You seem very… invested in the creation of this memorial to the Hero of Time," the King said. "Why is this, mother? What was the Hero of Time to you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Link," she said softly, the memories she had fought so long to suppress now leaping unbidden to the forefront of her consciousness. "To me, he simply was," -she paused briefly- "no, _is_ Link."


	4. Myths and Legends

**Myths and Legends**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, or any unoriginal characters._

_Setting: Post-MM (~10-15 years)_

As the Queen of Hyrule's bodyguard, Sir Link was never really "off-duty", but Impa insisted on taking the night shift. A young, unwed man sleeping in the same room as the young, unwed queen would not be proper (or so Impa said). The castle community did enjoy its gossip, perhaps a bit too much, and he could only imagine the rumors that would be flying around the castle if he and her highness were to sleep in the same quarters.

Not that he would ever dream of doing anything… improper to (or with) Zelda, he mused. Alright, so he had dreamed of such things, but he would never actually act on such urges. Unless, of course, she wanted him to-then he'd be all over that.

The knight chuckled softly. It was best to stop these trains of thought before they got too involved, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep.

He lit the lamp on his nightstand and blew out the small torch he had brought in with him. The knight removed his boots, gauntlets, and outer tunic and settled into his bed.

He picked up the book he borrowed earlier that evening from the queen's personal library-Myths and Legends of Hyrule-handling it gingerly. Books were precious commodities in Hyrule, since they were hand-written, and this one was particularly old. Although, he noticed, it looked like it had been rebound recently.

He skimmed the table of contents, looking for something interesting. The Origin of the Triforce-too boring. The Creation of Hyrule-too long. King Gustaf and the Dragon-that one had promise. The Adventures of the Hero of Time-wait, what?

He flipped to the end of the book. The pages were newer here, he noticed. The handwriting changed as well, from the blocky characters of older Hylian to a more flowing script that looked strangely familiar.

He furrowed his brow and began to read.

_There are those who say time is unchangeable, forever heading forward, never looking back. Let them hear the tales of the one chosen by the Goddesses to traverse time itself._

No way.

_There is a legend held dearly by the Royal Family-_dearly?-_of a boy who traveled through time to save a land that would never know of his bravery…._

Link skimmed the rest of the story. His first adventure was all there, and a good part of the second. Whoever was working on this must not have finished yet He smiled and closed the book, reminding himself to check back at a later time.

He went to place the book back on the nightstand when he noticed some folded pieces of paper sticking out from between the pages. Curious, he pulled them out and unfolded them. As he read the hidden documents, a grin slowly spread across his face. In handwriting that was unmistakably Zelda's-he'd recognize that scrawl anywhere-was a series of drafts of "The Adventures of the Hero of Time". Some had notes written in the margin, and there were even a few sketches.

He had always figured she was listening when he told her of his crazy adventures, but he'd never known that she believed him. Link wanted to thank her, but figured she'd appreciate his discretion in this manner. After a few minutes, it came to him: what better way to reply than to write on something only she would read?

He took the lamp and the drafts to his desk and sat down. He took out a quill and dipped it in the inkwell.

The knight turned to the last page of the drafts, and read the last line:

_And so, having saved the land of Termina, the Hero returned to Hyrule in order to return the mystical Ocarina of Time to the Royal Family._

_Not quite, Zel_, he wrote in reply, his thick, neat writing contrasting with the queen's sprawling script.

_I came back for you._


	5. Organ Lessons

**Organ Lessons**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, or any unoriginal characters._

_Setting: Pre-OoT (~20-30 years)_

"Ganny! Your moms are lookin' for ya!"

The young Gerudo boy rolled his eyes while dodging a staff aimed at his midsection. "I don't see why my moms think I need to learn stuff besides fightin'. Kings don't need to be cultured if they're strong."

His sparring partner, an older Gerudo woman, smiled knowingly. "Young prince, you will be representing the Gerudo to all the world. We are a well-rounded people, so you must be well-rounded as well." She put away her staff. "We will continue with training tomorrow."

A heavily panting young girl ran up to the two Gerudo, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Ganny," she said sternly, "your moms are pretty pissed off."

"Nabooru," scolded the elder woman, "such language does not become young ladies like yourself."

"Yeah, yeah." The young girl turned to the Gerudo prince and motioned in the direction of the Gerudo Fortress. "C'mon, we better get going."

The boy sighed, and walked dejectedly down the path to the fortress, Nabooru close behind.

"Stupid moms," he grumbled. "I don't see why I'm ever gonna need to know how to play the stupid organ."


	6. All The Riches In The World

**All the Riches in the World**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, or any unoriginal characters._

_Setting: Post-MM (~50 years)_

It all makes sense now.

He showed up at my door one night, a long, long time ago. He was sweaty, probably from riding long and hard, it was rather warm out. His eyes, I noticed, were red-rimmed and bloodshot. I asked him what brought him here. He responded by kissing me. I'll admit, I was pretty shocked-he had been around the farm from time to time, mostly on business. We were fairly good friends, but I had never thought he had feelings for me.

Things got all hot and heavy pretty quickly, and, well, let's just say we had a good time.

I woke up the next morning, alone. I didn't expect anything big, but a good-bye would have been nice. I got dressed and went out to help Pa with chores, and got quite a surprise-Link was there in the stables, mucking the stalls. He simply smiled at me, and asked me to hand him a bale of straw.

He was there the day after that. And the day after that. Before long, we were engaged, and then married. It was everything I ever hoped for. He was everything I ever hoped for.

He did have one strange habit, though. Every year, on one specific day in the late summer-you know, the time of year when you can't sit still without sweating because of all the heat and water in the air-he would saddle up Epona, or, in later years, her offspring, and just ride off for a day or two. He never told me where we went, or why he left. I prodded, of course. He would just smile, and tell me he loved me. I, of course, had my suspicions, mainly about him going off to do certain activities with a certain monarch. I mean, how can a farm girl compete with the Din damned Queen of Hyrule?

We were happy though, you know? He was affectionate and attentive to our kids and me. The ranch became even more prosperous. Link's connections with the knights got us to be the primary suppliers of horses for the knights. And for good reason, we did have the best horses in Hyrule.

Sure, we had our squabbles now and again, but what married couple doesn't? All in all, we were happily married for over 35 years.

One day, though, he was out breaking a particularly stubborn colt. The little bastard kicked him, and broke his arm. It was a pretty nasty break, but my stubborn husband refused to go to the doctor and get it set. He just wrapped it in a makeshift splint and tied it to his chest. He broke the colt the next week, one-armed.

Suddenly, things started to go downhill. Even at his age, Link was a strong, fit man. Sure, his hair had gone sorta grey, he had a few wrinkles, and he moved a little slower than he used to. That's what getting old does to you. But one day, he just looked… wrong. His skin was clammy and pale, and he was just sluggish. He just got worse and worse. I finally convinced him to send for a doctor.

The doctor said that the problem was that his arm had never healed right. It got infected, and the infection got into his blood. Simply put, he was dying, and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it.

My Link lasted about a week more after that. I held his hand as he lay there, struggling to keep his eyes open. "Malon", he said, with much effort, "I want you to tell her I never forgot her." I asked him who he meant, though I knew the answer all too well. He smiled weakly and told me I'd know when I saw her. Then, he brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it. With his last bit of effort, he looked me in the eyes and said, "I love you." Those were the last words my hero ever spoke.

Since he was, at one time, a knight, we had the option of a royal burial. I chose something quiet and private at the ranch. He would have wanted that.

It was raining that day. I like to think it was the Goddesses crying. But really, what would they care about a lowly knight-turned-farmer?

The kids and me laid him to rest under the tree, next to my parents and our stillborn little boy. I'll go there too, when it's my time to be with my family.

The relatives and friends trickled out of the ranch after the service. All except for one. A woman in a dark hooded cloak lingered behind.

"Hey," I said to her, maybe a bit too snippily, "why are you still here? I'd like to be alone with my husband."

"My apologies," she-for it was a she, by the sound of her voice-replied. She moved closer to me, and took my small, calloused hand in her larger gloved one. "I was once a friend of…" she paused, maybe to collect herself, since I could hear her voice wavering, "…your husband."

She pulled back her hood, revealing a silver-streaked head of blonde hair and pair of dark blue eyes. And a crown.

So this was the famed Queen of Hyrule? I'll admit, I was only mildly impressed. Yeah, she was extremely pretty. Shorter than I expected, though-I was at least a hand taller. Stockier than me, too. Maybe I took a bit too much pleasure in that.

I frowned. "You."

The queen looked me straight in the eye and said, "You have questions for me, Malon of Lon."

I glared back at her. "You're Din damned right I do."

"Then ask," she said icily, "but do not expect me to mince words."

I had to ask, even if I didn't want to hear the answer. "When he would leave me, on that day, every year, did he go to see you?"

The queen furrowed her brows together in what looked like confusion. "I know not of what you speak. I never saw your husband after the day he left." She looked down, sadly. "That was a long, long time ago."

"What did you do to him?" I asked angrily.

"I told him no." She sighed. "He asked me to marry him. I politely declined."

My eyes widened in shock.

"He asked me why," she continued, "but I refused to provide him with a reason. He then stormed out of the castle, and I never saw him again."

Ah, the pieces were starting to fit together. "So I was sloppy seconds."

"I think not. We both know Link was incapable of such a thing. He would not have married you if he had not truly loved you."

She was right, as much as I hated to agree with her. The man couldn't lie and keep a straight face, much less two-time me. I chuckled to myself. I was a silly, silly woman.

Since things were going so well (and since the queen hadn't burnt me to a crisp for being disrespectful yet), I decided to find out whether curiosity actually did end up killing the cat. "Your highness," I ventured, "why-"

She bit her lower lip. "I said no because I loved him."

That didn't make sense at all. And I told her so.

She slumped her shoulders. "I couldn't bear to cage him, so I let him go free."

Damn royalty and their metaphors, why can they just say things plainly?

Then it hit me. That's why he left every year. All those years later, and he was still looking for closure.

"You should tell him that," I said. "He deserves to know."

She raised an eyebrow. I motioned over to the freshly covered grave. "Go on, tell him."

The queen gave me a strange look, then knelt down in the mud-I'll admit, I was not expecting her to do that-and closed her eyes. When she thought I wasn't looking, she slipped one of the rings off of her fingers and buried it.

"You know," I said, "he wanted me to tell you that he never forgot you, either."

She turned and looked up at me, smiling sadly. "I would have given all the riches in the world to have been in your place, Malon of Lon."

I wouldn't have taken them.


End file.
